One club who can winter well basking in the glory of a successful campaign are Fox Lodge.
“It’s been a fantastic season and one that I or anyone associated with Fox Lodge won’t forget anytime soon to be sure,” said skipper Aaron Heywood.
“The final will live long not just in the memory of Fox Lodge but will go down in North West folklore as one of the best. Outside of the cup, we can be proud too of our league campaign, beating some quality teams along the way.
"We have achieved a lot of firsts as a club this past few years and this year has been another successful one. We were hampered by availability issues but to emerge with a senior cup, and to have been in with a shot at the Premier title with two games to go isn’t a bad return!
“I hope this cup is the springboard for us as a club and gives us a real confidence boost. We have a lot of talent and potential coming through and I hope we show this over the coming years.
"We are planning already to see where we go from here, to ensure this isn’t just a one-off. We want this to be a platform to take the club in the right direction. The players have got a taste of the big time and are hungry for more honours.”
On the stats side there wasn't much to separte their top performers with the bat as original professional Marco Marais hitting 510 runs at 72.86, helped by two centuries in the cup wins with Killyclooney and Donemana.
His replacement Geeth Kumara also made a century, his 108 in the semi-final victory over Eglinton helping him to 209 runs at 104.50.
Five of their seven averaged in the 20's with Brian Allen hitting 467 runs at 25.94, just ahead of Jason Milligan - 445 at 26.17, and Johnny Robinson - 421 at 24.78.
Others worthy of mention were TJ Nicholl (378 at 17.18), Dean McCarter (367 runs at 26.21), and Craig Doherty (309 runs at 28.09).
On the bowling front, Bap Robinson with 30 wickets at 20.17 just pipped skipper Aaron Heywood's 29 wkts at 25.34 - both having five wicket hauls.
Adam Walker had a six-wicket haul which saw him take 20 wickets at 22.55, level on scalps with Jamie McIntyre (20 at 27.05).
Can Fox Lodge build on their success of 2022? You certainly wouldn't bet against them..
FOX LODGE BATTING
- Marco Marais 510 runs at 72.86 ( 2 fifties, 2 hundreds)
- Brian Allen 467 runs at 25.94 (3 fifties)
- Jason Milligan 445 runs at 26.17 (4 fifties)
- Johnny Robinson 421 runs at 24.76 (1 fifty)
- TJ Nicholl 378 runs at 17.18 (2 fifties)
- Dean McCarter 367 runs at 26.21 (3 fifties)
- Craig Doherty 309 runs at 28.09
FOX LODGE BOWLING
- Johnny Robinson 30 wickets at 20.17
- Aaron Heywood 29 wkts at 25.34
- Adam Walker 20 wkts at 22.55
- Jamie McIntyre 20 wkts at 27.05
- Geeth Kumara 11 wkts at 8.27